what's up rick. jeff kaplan here. i remember that awards banquet for CT NBL plates. it was at the high school in meriden, ct. maloney high school. i think that was the last year i raced. good times. i reconnected with dave olear through this site as well. i am still trying to find some old pics to post. great memories.

More very early CT racing action, this is Wilton summer 1981:

Pulling off the start in 14 over open left to right: Paul Kruger 10, Dave Olear 9, Mike Patrick 14, ? 2001, Jim Kulp 57, ? 873




16 year old Dave Olear 9 is very surprised to have 15 year old Paul Kruger 10 next to him over the table top in 14 over open




16 X over the table top headed into the second turn I'm leading Kulp

Thanks very much for your help earlier with posting pics Axe, much appreciated, did you ever race any of these tracks?? I went to Wethersfield BMX aka Rt 8?? a few times, that's by Bristol isnt it??

Hey Rick, yes I remember you, 14x was a tough class that year, I have a photo of me from that event, I'm at the mic for some reason, probably said something stupid, Dave

I love this site !! I thought I was the only one that was into this.I'm now inspired to race again.Checking into the race schedule.Is anyone left in Ct?

O'neil's at the races all the time his kid races & has won several national championships.
Mike Savage still races, mostly Trumbull.
I started racing in '83 at 13 so you guys are a few yrs older.
Got back into racing in '99 & have been going ever since w/ my 10 yr old daughter.
You guys have to come back & check it out
link for CT BMX
CT BMX

just checked out the web site,printed off forms,warned the wife,and my orthopedes,gett'n antsee...gonna split my netra schedule and go bmx'n.I lived around the corner from Craig Stevens,but he moved 2-3 yrs ago and lost touch.Hopefully I will see/recognize some people at the races

Yeah buddy!!! Killer shots of West Haven. Any one remember how the first corner developed a rut in it and use it like a burm? The "big" triples out of turn two? Axe Handel on the starting gate? I think it was John Rodi that ran the gate during the 15 and over open. Veins were popping out of his neck and head trying to hold up the gate(everybody starting using a 2 pedal start). How Marvel Foote used to hand out trophies out of the back of her car. Good times right there!
There are still a lot of us racing. The cruiser class is about 90% old-schoolers. 20" is about 85% OS'ers. Love seeing guys get back into it.
And watch out for that Mosh B kid. He can pedal over any thing!

rick o'neil's kid has won national championships? cool poop poop poop, I say again, poop. if you see him, tell him jeff kaplan from meriden says hi. he was friends with my older brother steve.

Youve got a good memory, yea the first turn had just one line, if you happened to be on the outside of the rut forget it, and if you bit youd get that gravel stuck in you, not to mention the trees, gloves and pads manditory, how about Skip Cammaratta officiating from the inside of the first turn looking for fouls, you can see him in the third photo.

I have just 1 photo from the original Meriden track layout, not a good photo but I'll post it soon, remember it had a wooden starting "hill"?? Mr Oneil ran the gate there "bikes ready...pedals ready...go!!", primitive but effective, it was all we had, it worked well, Lime Rock might have been the first automatic gate in the state, had lights, cant remember if it had sound, towards the end of summer 1980 it was put in Im sure.

[quote name='jeffkaplan' date='Apr 2 2009, 06:38 PM' post='752948']
rick o'neil's kid has won national championships? cool poop poop poop, I say again, poop. if you see him, tell him jeff kaplan from meriden says hi. he was friends with my older brother steve.
[/quote



looks like a censor edited my posting and put in "poop." i went back on this site and thought it was weird because i definitely didn't type those two sentences with the word "poop." i didn't realize this site was censored.

Another early CT track I've heard mentioned by a few of you, this is Danielson summer of 81, I raced there just this once, it might have had a 6 man gate, see how narrow that first jump is, I'm 1103, not sure who the others are, might be locals, this would be 16X.

Some style off the Wilton first jump 1981

Some jump shots from the beginnings of BMX in CT, these are all Bethel locals, Bethel was the one of the two epicenters of BMX in CT back then, these are all summer 1980:

The Bethel Food jump was a 15 foot nearly vertical wall off the parking lot floor, you can see the lot in the background, we would get max speed down a hill and across the lot, hit it and pop out, here is Dan Bishop:



and me:



We had jumps and a makeshift track at the Mesinger seat factory (Mesinger sponsored both me and Kulp at one point), Kulp going for distance off the first track jump:




Kulp bailing out clearing 5 pallets at Mesinger:




Me letting loose at Mesinger after getting up speed in the factory and flying out the shipping door (I cant imagine this one ended well):

What exactly do you mean OLD? Dont make me break out the Flight Cranks..........


1. Rich Wowak. Full Lock Plus, Guilford, CT 1982. (Yes thats right, 150 years ago in 1982.)
Click to view attachment
2. Rich Wowak. Triple whoops. Guilford, CT 1982.
Click to view attachment

Glad you checked in Mr Wowak, good photos, I might have one with you in it from 82, did you ever use a red Bell Moto 3 with numbers 449 on the side with yellow Griffs uniform??

I used to race Wilton starting in 1978. Tom Saunders in this picture was my mentor since he was 4-5 years older but mainly we raced the NBA (NBMXA) in New Jersey as we were from New York. I did a bunch of RI as well in East Greenwich.

Tom is now in Oregon. That bike he is riding soon became my brothers prized Robinson.

I found this site looking for BMX information as one of my other BMX buddies and lifelong friend is taking his 4 year old racing this summer and we need to learn about the light parts for the little guy. They have been at Trumbull. Meriden and Foothills this summer pretty frequently......didn't know BMX was so alive and well.

Yes Tom was tough competition, he probably got me 4 out of 5, he was racing about 1 year before me at Wilton and had all the tricked out components when I was just scraping together a makeshift racer, here is another shot of us in 15x from Lime Rock CT summer 1980, this was an NBA double pointer I think, left to right: Saunders, Aman (future pro), Me, Scott Demauro (future pro), Bard (I think that's his name, was from NY possibly).




Also, since you race in RI here is thread you might like:

http://www.vintagebmx.com/community/index....hode&st=280

And there's a New Jersey thread also:

http://www.vintagebmx.com/community/index....ersey&st=60

Just found this site...I raced Wilton Ct in 1979 and 1980, earning #1 plate there. It was a local thing, not aba/nba/nbl. I raced with Ken Aman all around New York/New Jersey in 1980. Attached is a picture from Limerock, first turn. Iam 547, I think also in the picture besides Ken is David Olear, and that might be Scott DeMauro on the ground....that is Scotts dad (RIP) in the background...

Tom

Yes Tom that's Scott eating dirt, I can see the Smokin Scott on his helmet, ha

Here is a shot at the exact same spot as Tom's photo just a few weeks later in summer 1980, I can tell because my new bike and helmet, me leading Kulp in 14 over open.

Holy Cow...What memories...Found this site by searching the old wilton track for the heck of it....I raced at wilton late 70's early 80's...if my old mind is working...13x number 857.....no one believes me when i tell them in the old days we didnt have a start gate...We had a rubber band..rim liners tied together i thinnk streched out in front of us...bikes ready pedals ready..GO....Those bethel pics are great...I lived in redding at the time...so I do remember the messenger jumps and the sand lot track...would kill to see more old wilton pictures....drive down rt 7 everyday to work right by the spot....still remember pulling in on wednesday nights?? in my dads vega wagon with 3 mongooses on the roof rack....thanks for the smiles...

More Wilton, 1981, second turn, 9 is me, 57 is Kulp

Guilford May 1982 Me (3), Rick, Jim (2), Carl, Ray, Mike (7), Jeff (1)

More Bethel CT, downtown, summer 1980:

awesome pics dave,glad to have talked with you..brian

Ok so from what im gathering from this thread is that all the tracks in CT history are 20 in no order;

1.) ""Lime Rock"" Park ~NBA~ 19??-1980 ::Raced Sunday day::
2.) ""Trumbull"" T.R.A.C.K. Indian ledge park ~NBL~ 198?- present day still in operation ::Race Tuesday night:: http://www.trumbullbmx.com/
3.) ""Brooklyn"" Nutmeg. ~?~ 19??-19??
4.) ""South Windsor"" RTE 5 BMX. 19??- 198?
5.) ""Meriden"" Silver City. Falcon Field ~NBL~ 19??- present day still in operation :: Racing Saturday day:: http://falconbmx.com/
6.) ""Guilford"" 19??-1986 ::Raced Sunday Night?::
7.) ""Preston""~?~ 19??-19??
8.) ""West Haven"" Painter Park ~NEBA then NBL~ ::Raced Fri night:: 19??-19??
9.) ""Bethel"" Supercross BMX. Mitchell Park ~NBL~ 19??- Present day still in operation ::Race day Wedsday night:: http://bethelbmx.com/
10.) ""Wilton""~?~::Raced Wedsday::19??-19??
11.) ""Bristol""~NBL?~ 19??-1991
12.) ""Farmington""~?~ 19??-19??
13.) ""Torrington"" Foothills BMX. Alvord Park ~NBL~ 1995- Present day still in operation ::Race Sunday day:: http://www.foothillsbmx.com/
14.) ""Manchester"" Nike missle site ~?~ 19??-19??
15.) ""Taunton"" ~?~ 19??-19??
16.) ""Winsted""~?~ 19??-19??
17.) ""Groton"" ~?~ 19??-19??
18.) ""Wethersfield"" BMX Rt 8 ~?~ 19??-19??
19.) ""Danielson"" ~?~ 19??-19??
20.) East ""Greenwich"" ~?~ 19??-19??

**Please help me fill in the ???question marks???? *****


http://www.nutmegbmx.org/



'Sean Heitman'? Where are the ""ton of pictures""? Im guessing you don't have a scanner?

Bull run in Bozrah

I can help just a little, some on the list might be duplicates, some are in out of state (E Greenwich RI, Taunton MA) the first few tracks went like this in chronological order (I think):

Wilton, Wed nights, started 1978, ended 82 maybe
Lime Rock, Sunday day, started late 1979, ended 1982 maybe
West Haven, Fri nights, started 1980, ended ?
Meriden (Silver City), Saturday day, started 1980, still going
Danielson (also called Brooklyn?), Sunday? operating in 81
Trumbull Track, Tues night, opened in 82
Guilford, Sunday day, started 1982, ended?
Winsted (also called Torrington?), Saturday?, operating 1982
Bethel (orig track location), Satruday, started late 82, still going (new location)

that's all I got

Anyone here remember Darien Lewie? Well here I am. After reading all the posts I was somewhere between welling up with tears and wanting to kick some Rad A@@. I got pics, and vid. I will post.

Darien Lewie 1983 10x

Ok update thanks to ""daveolear"""

Ok so from what im gathering from this thread is that all the tracks in CT history are 20 in no order;

1.) ""Lime Rock"" Park ~NBA~ late 1979-1980 or 1982? ::Raced Sunday day::
2.) ""Trumbull"" T.R.A.C.K. Indian ledge park ~NBL~ 1982- present day still in operation ::Race Tuesday night:: http://www.trumbullbmx.com/

3.) ""Brooklyn"" Nutmeg. ~?~ 19??-19??
?same track?
""Danielson"" (also called Brooklyn?), Sunday? operating in 81
4.) ""South Windsor"" RTE 5 BMX. 19??- 198?
5.) ""Meriden"" Silver City. Falcon Field ~NBL~ 1980-present day still in operation :: Racing Saturday day:: http://falconbmx.com/

6.) ""Guilford"" 1982-1986 ::Raced Sunday Afternoon?::
7.) ""Preston""~?~ 19??-19??
8.) ""West Haven"" Painter Park ~NEBA then NBL~ ::Raced Fri night:: 1980-19??
9.) ""Bethel"" Supercross BMX. Mitchell Park ~NBL~ 1982- Present day still in operation ::Race day Wedsday night:: http://bethelbmx.com/

10.) ""Wilton""~?~::Raced Wedsday::19??-19??
Wilton, Wed nights, started 1978, ended 82 maybe
11.) ""Bristol""~NBL?~ 19??-1991
12.) ""Farmington""~?~ 19??-19??
13.) ""Torrington"" Foothills BMX. Alvord Park ~NBL~ 1995- Present day still in operation ::Race Sunday day:: http://www.foothillsbmx.com/

14.) ""Manchester"" Nike missle site ~?~ 19??-19??
16.) ""Winsted""~?~ 19??-19??
Winsted (also called Torrington?), Saturday?, operating 1982
17.) ""Groton"" ~?~ 19??-19??
18.) ""Wethersfield"" BMX Rt 8 ~?~ 19??-19??
19.) ""Danielson"" ~?~ 19??-19??
20.) ""Bozrah"" Bull run in

**Please help me fill in the ???question marks???? *****


http://www.nutmegbmx.org/




Mix up (E Greenwich, RI.) not East ""Greenwich, CT.""
Mix up (Taunton, MA.)not ""Taunton, CT.""

Here is the only video I could find on the internet!


Meriden & Guilford, Ct. 1983
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frfW7KAwtMg


::::::::If anyone has any more video or no's where to find it please post links,
or drop names of people who mite have some on film!::::::::

Just found more info on Bristol BMX Track
Bristol BMX info and Pictures link!


Taken from the link above!

Bristol BMX Track

Originally this track was called Bristol Civitan as the local Civitan Club was the civic organization behind the track operation. The track was actually built and maintained by Jim Parrot, who still owns the Connecticut Bicycle Exchange in Bristol. The track was off of Emmett Street. It opened in the spring of 1986 and raced on Monday nights. Two years later it was deemed not profitable enough for Jim to keep running it and he decided not to open for the 1989 season. The last race under his Track Directorship was the 1988 State Championship. A few parents decided to try and keep it going and, under new management and with the Bristol Jaycees as a backer, it re-opened on Sunday June 11 and was called "Thunder Alley". It raced every Sunday with a scheduled 4:00 gate drop. Most of the pictures below were taken in 1989. In 1990 it switched to Monday night racing. In the spring of 1992 the city simply plowed it under. In the first year of the re-openning a condo complex was being built along the front straight and it's construction is visible in some of the pictures. After 1991 the residents of the Sandpiper Woods Condominium Complex complained enough to the city about the noise and the city responded. Today there is a major soccer complex at the site and we hope they are screaming their heads off every night.

The curly haired red headed guy in a couple of the pictures is George Givens, who was a volunteer. George is a former multi-time National Arm-Wrestling Champion and appeared (Briefly) in the Movie "Over The Top" staring Sylvestor Stallone. He appears in the picture titled "Don Holder" of RGM BMX". Oh yeah, RGM became T/C Cycle but finally went out of business in 2005.

Yes I remember your name, you were always winning, announcer: "It's the 9 expert class out of the gate with Darien Lewie in the lead, again....", you were 8 years or so younger than me, did you compete against Dale Johnson, he was on my team, I raced in the area 79-82 then retired. Dave

Bristol BMX Track

Sign Outside


Announcers Tower

Back Stretch

Dave,
I remember as an older rider. My parents on the other hand remember you clear as day and immediately wanted to know how you were doing. "He was such a nice boy" My parents were smart enough to save all my old gear(clothing/bike) including 3 bikes and all the parts to support them.
I do not remember Dale.
Is there any racing around here I can go see?
I live in Granby CT, have a 19 month old son and beautiful wife.

Hey, Sean
My name is Darien Lewie. When I found this site and thread, I immediately told my parents who got such a kick out of what everyone was up to. I still remember your Rhodesian Ridgeback dog, from back in the day.
I still have scars on my back from being run over at the bottom of the first jump with BEAR TRAP PEDALS! I also bent my frame that day. Which turned out to be the turning point for me in racing. My parents bought me a real racing bike after that. No more Huffy! JMC which I still have and is in excelent condition.
Thank you and your family for the memories!

Darien, That was nice of your parents to say, I have been here in the Los Angeles area since 90, not sure if there are tracks near you, try the nutmegbmx.org site, the posts on this thread from midschoolfool from 7/9 has some info, there is a track called Whip City near springfield, it might be ABA, they just had a national there last weekend I read, the website is whipcitybmx.com, I connected with Sean thru facebook, just do a search on his name, he's the only one, when I went to college I lost all my bike stuff, gave it away really, I have nothing now, no trophies, only thing I kept was the 1982 CT NBL #1 plate from 17x, and photos, I have none from Meriden, raced there maybe 50 times but no photos, if you have any I'd love to see how the track was in 81-82, Dave

More Bristol BMX Pictures;

Panoramic

Dirt Starting Hill

The "Launcher"

Panoramic 2

Dave,
I will dig through my stuff. I am pretty sure we have pics and maybe a video. Thanks for the website references. Dave did you race in any of the "War of the Stars" races? Or at the Northampton track? I definatly have video of that stuff. Not sure what year. Maybe 82 or 83. I will look for your plate in my pics, thanks.

Dave if you want some trophies I can just send them to you. Tell me what year and what place, LMAO. I got alot of them, like 1,200 or so. I/we raced like 5 days a week for 4 years straight. My parents entire attic has been full since the mid eighties. Thank god for parents like mine.

Yes about a half an hour away from you in Torrington, CT.
The track is called Foothills BMX.

Every Sunday!
here is some
Schedule Information

Racing Sundays at 1:30 pm
Registration 10:00 am to 12:30 pm (Phone (860) 626-1BMX)
**just in case you whould like to get back on the bike! ****
Practice 11:00 am to 1:15 pm

There webside is http://www.foothillsbmx.com

There are also 2 Nationals & a regional championship coming up in CT.

First National is

the Constitution Classic July 24 & 25 are the 2 National days it's inside of Indian Ledge park Trumbull, CT. National Day 1(Saturday) Starts at 11:00AM
Day 2 (Sunday) Starts at: 8:30AM

you can also check out the NBL site for all the info on that and the other 2 events
here is the link
http://www.nbl.org/constitution-classic/

Depending on what type of event you would like to check out first.

More Bristol BMX Pictures;


Finish Line Area
Next to Swamp



At the Gate

Thats a lot of trophies, I shouldve kept a few of the tall ones, yes I raced Northhampton a few times, indoor dirt, I found a results list with me getting 3rd in 16x there at the "Wwbmxa Columbia Winter National", it might have been jan or feb 81, couldve been 82, it doesnt have the year on it, yes raced a few WOS in summer 82 to qualify for the 82 NBL grands in Pittsburg, raced: Derry and Claremont NH, Howell NJ, another in NJ, and the Grands, I found a shot of me at the grands in 17x, it was in Total BMX Jan 1983, I'm 97:

More Bristol BMX Pictures;


Road to Glory


Greg Plaskett in Cycle Craft Uni


""The Start"" Gate dropping.

A bit late in responding to this.

I raced at Limerock quite a bit.
Later raced at Nutmeg.
It's been a long time, so I'll guess the time frame was around the late 70's to early 80's.

Being from R.I, my home tracks were Buttonwoods and later Rocky Hill Fairgrounds.

Pam Tartaglia and family. Hope all is well from my family to yours. lewie@att.net